Baked over slices of apple at 350 for 45 minutes. While the pork chops cooked I made a sauce: sauteed onions and garlic, 2 shakes of BBQ sauce, 3 shakes of sherry, some apple butter and some honey; bring it to a boil then simmer for 20 minutes. I don't have a recipe, it just sounded good. It was tangy and sweet, and I'm quite happy with how it turned out.
Two nights ago Carol made a layered chocolate cupcake. She saw a recipe on Pinterest with a lot of complaints from people who couldn't make it work. Carol took a look at the recipe and figured out she knew what needed to be different to fix it.
For years we've used the joke that I cook and she bakes. But as I was deciding what to add to my sauce, I was thinking about how I could never tweak a baking recipe that way. In the oven things have to rise, the oven temperature and the thickness of the pan have to align, before the oven door closes everything has to already been put together properly so no time to adjust.
That's why I cook; there's plenty of time to play with the flavor. But I admire everyone brave enough to play with their kitchen counter like a chemistry set.
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